


Unexpectedly Fit and Wet

by fractionallyfoxtrot



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: F/M, Martin and the students, shirtless!Martin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-25
Updated: 2012-08-26
Packaged: 2017-11-12 22:09:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/496171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fractionallyfoxtrot/pseuds/fractionallyfoxtrot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is an annoyingly hot day.  Martin has agreed to help the students he lives with with their charity car wash.  There's an accident that causes Martin to take his shirt off.  Everyone is... surprised.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Shirtless Martin](http://cabinpres-fic.dreamwidth.org/4207.html?thread=5015151#cmt5015151) prompt on the meme.

Martin wiped his brow as Lily handed him a glass of water.

“Thank you, Lily,” he said politely before eagerly gulping down the cool liquid.

“You’re welcome,” she said, watching Martin lick his lips once the glass was empty. “Thanks again for helping us out.”

Martin shrugged and mumbled something about being useful. Without being asked, Lily refilled his glass from the pitcher she was holding.

She nibbled on her lower lip as Martin downed the second glass of water. It was noon; the heat of the horribly hot day had reached its peak. Everyone had been working since eight and no one had bothered to offer Martin anything. Lily brought him the water because she knew he was too polite to ask and because she felt guilty for asking him to help in the first place.

Of course they’d asked Lily to ask him.

_“He’ll never say ‘no’ to you, Lil!” Isabelle argued that morning. “You’re five feet of unintimidating innocence. Just do that thing where you look down at the floor and shuffle your feet like you’re a peasant girl addressing a prince. It’s adorable, he won’t be able to say ‘no.’”_

_“I do not do that!” Lily protested._

_“Yes, you do,” said Lucas and Logan in tandem._

_“It’s like you walked out of a Disney movie,” Tommy chuckled._

So Lily had been the one to climb the stairs to the attic and ask Martin if he’d be willing to help them with their charity car wash. She explained that it was to raise money for the Fitton animal shelter. Martin had looked reluctant but he agreed and she hadn’t shuffled her feet... more than once.

Unfortunately their efforts to help the animal shelter build a new addition to their kennel wasn’t going as well as anyone would’ve hoped. Business had been slow; the location Tommy had been able to secure was on the outskirts of town so there was very little traffic. Isabelle had spent the last two weeks promoting the car wash but no one seemed interested in their cause or the prospect of leaving their house on such a hot day. The few customers that had turned up had been difficult; family members with cars that hadn’t been washed in years, yardmen whose trucks were covered in sap and grass clippings, and Martin’s co-workers from MJN Air, which seemed to be especially unfortunate for Martin.

The twins had washed the black Lexus while Martin and Tommy took care of the green Mercedes. Lily washed the Yugo, which was a strange pea soup green, with help from its owner, despite her many attempts to tell him that he really didn’t have too. He’d just smiled and assured her that he was a very big helper. He even helped her dry the other cars while the guys moved on to the gold Cadillac. The luxury car owners sat in deck chairs under the tent, tipping Isabelle for bringing them water and lemonade.

“Oi, Martin,” Lucas called. “We need your help over here.”

Martin handed the glass back to Lily and ventured back out into the sun to help Lucas and Logan with the large white van that had just pulled up. Tommy clapped Martin on the shoulder as he passed him, waving at Lily to pour him a glass of water. He drank it just as greedily as Martin had, swiping his hand across his mouth to wipe away the excess that he’d spilled in haste.

“Thanks, Lil,” he said, holding out the glass for a refill. “You know, at this rate, we might not make enough to break even on supplies.”

“Don’t start with me, Tommy,” Isabelle warned him.

“I’m not starting anything,” he said, holding his hands up in surrender. “It’s way too hot to even think about starting anything. I think that’s the real reason nobody came; it’s just too bloody hot to be outside today. I don’t even know why this lot is here,” he said, gesturing towards the MJN crew.

“One does not pass up the opportunity to see Sir’s commanding handling of a Squeegee,” said one of the men lounging on a deck chair.

“Another pilot washing a car?” the woman asked cheerily. “It’s as if Christmas has come early.”

“Except that it’s way too hot to be Christmas, Mum,” the younger man added.

Lily, Tommy, and Isabelle all exchanged a look and all three found each other equally as confused as themselves.

A loud shout drew the attention of everyone under the tent. Lucas had his hand clapped over his mouth but the shaking of his shoulders gave away the laughter he was trying to muffle. Logan was squatting on top of the van and staring, mouth open, at the bucket dangling from his hand by a broken handle. Martin stood below him, dripping wet. He pushed back the wet red curls that clung to his forehead so he could glare up at Logan.

“Martin, I’m so sorry,” Logan apologized.

“No he’s not,” Lucas laughed.

“At least it was cool,” Martin mumbled.

Martin looked down at himself and grimaced as he pulled at the saturated fabric that clung to his body. He grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head in one swift movement.

Lily stared at him, completely oblivious to the painful squeeze Isabelle had on her arm.

Martin was fit.

Any of them might have guessed that Martin was fit enough with all the time he spent moving other people’s things for money but none of them would’ve suspected that he was _fit_. The muscles of his chest and abdomen were possibly more defined than those of the twins and they both took great pride in keeping their rugby bodies in the best of shape. His bare shoulders were broader than she expected, making Lily wonder if most of Martin’s clothes were too big for him. That could have explained why, despite having seen Martin around the house in a shirt on countless occasions, she’d never noticed his arms before. Martin’s arms were firm and toned and they flexed as he wrung the water from his shirt.

Lily’s eyes, and her mind, took a dangerous wander and she had to shut her eyes to stop it from going any further. 

When she opened her eyes again, Martin was walking over to the tent and the world seemed to unpause.

“Oh, that’s not even fair,” Lucas grumbled. He looked up to his brother who was still staring at Martin with his mouth open, now baffled instead of shocked.

Tommy dropped his glass and spilled water all over his feet but he didn’t seem to be very bothered by it. Isabelle’s squeeze on Lily’s arm grew in pressure and pain as Martin grew closer. It finally became too much and Lily had to rescue herself before she lost the limb altogether.

The only reaction to Martin’s physique from his MJN co-workers was a droll “Apparently, the uniform really _is_ wasted on him.”

“Lily, could you get me a towel?” Martin asked.

Lily’s gaze was drawn to everything but Martin’s face but luckily he was trying to wring out the last of the water from his shirt and didn’t notice. She dug through the bags of supplies stashed under the table and yanked out a white hand towel. Martin exchanged his wet shirt for the towel and smiled as he thanked her. Lily blushed as she lay his shirt out on the end of the table to dry. Martin’s polite smile had never made her blush before but that was when he was just Martin, the pilot who lived in attic. He’d transformed into Martin, the unfairly hot for his age pilot, and dear God he lived in the attic.

Having temporarily given up on propriety, Lily watched as Martin ran the towel over his chest and down his arms. He bent his arm over his shoulder to reach the back of his neck. Martin pushed the towel over the back of his head and ruffled it in his hair. The red curls were messy and askew when he was done; Lily knew from experience that that was how he looked when he’d just gotten out of bed but she caught herself wondering if it wasn’t only sleep that would muss his hair like that. 

He ran his hands through his hair twice. “Good enough?” he asked.

“Fine,” she breathed.

Martin handed her the towel and started back towards the twins. “You two could’ve done something while I dried myself off,” he scolded.

Once Martin’s back was turned on them, Tommy and Isabelle had their phones out and their virtual keyboards clicked furiously as their thumbs raced to compose messages.

“What are you doing?” Lily asked.

“Just texting a few friends,” Tommy mumbled. He looked up at Martin and the twins roughhousing instead of washing, chucking sponges at each other. Lily swore she heard Tommy whine as soapy water ran down Martin’s back in rivulets. He shoved his phone into her hands. “I should help, big van. Keep my phone dry,” he instructed as he went over to join the scene.

The screen was still open to Tommy’s messages. He’d sent a mass text to all of his contacts with just the message ‘HOT WET GINGER. HOBART STREET. BRING A CAR.’

Lily slipped his phone into her pocket and turned her attention to Isabelle. “What are you doing?”

“Facebook,” Isabelle answered.

She finished typing and showed Lily the post. Isabelle had taken a picture of Martin as he was drying himself. His arm was flexed as he rubbed his neck, his chest featured predominantly in the photo, and what Lily knew was annoyance looked a lot like smolder when taken out of context. Isabelle had made it the photo of the car wash event.

“Isa,” Lily hissed, “you shouldn’t do that without his permission.”

“He’ll never know,” Isabelle said, dismissing the thought with a wave of her hand. “Besides, twenty-seven people just said that they’re coming and, judging by the comments, they’ll be here soon. The animal shelter might get their new kennel addition yet!” She pushed the pitcher of water in Lily’s hands. “Go see if he’d like another drink Lil,” she instructed, tossing Lily a few cups. “We need Martin fit to wash as many cars as possible.”

Lily carried the water out to the guys, trying to ignore the constant pinging and buzzing of Tommy’s phone in her pocket. Tommy was soaping up the side of the van while Lucas had joined Logan on the roof; Martin was momentarily acting as supervisor. He stretched his arms over his head and Lily, mesmerized by the play of muscles across his back, stumbled over her own feet, dropping the cups. Martin heard the clatter and helped her pick them up. He held one out to her and she filled it with water.

“Thank you, Lily,” he said with a smile.

As Lily watched a few errant drops of water run down Martin’s chin, her mind resumed its dangerous wander and she wondered how correct Isabelle had been this morning about Martin’s inability to say ‘no’ to Lily.


	2. ... and Kissing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily has been preoccupied with Martin ever since she saw him shirtless at the car wash. She's drawn to him, she's noticing him, and she's not really sure why. All of the other housemates have gone to a party leaving Lily and Martin alone in the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written as a follow-up to the original prompt fill. Inspired by the comment "Martin/Lily inappropriately making out on the couch during a drunken party or he's an idiot. (So ... it'll never happen.)".

“Lil, everybody left to go to Franco’s, leave it for later.”

Lily ignored Isabelle’s suggestion that they leave the mess of cups and bottles spread across the kitchen table and counters. She continued to collect red plastic cups and toss their contents into the sink before adding them to the growing stack in her hand.

“Come on,” Conner said, pulling at Isabelle’s hand, “the rest of the party will be there by now. The twins know that I left a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black there. It’ll be gone before we get there if they get their hands on it.”

“Leave it until morning, Lil,” Isabelle tried again. “Then you can make Tommy and the twins help too.”

“I just want to throw these away,” Lily said, pointing to the stack of red cups. “Go on without me, Isa, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“You heard her, Isa, let’s go.”

“We can wait five more minutes,” Isabelle snapped at her impatient boyfriend. Conner rolled his eyes and his shoulders heaved with a heavy sigh.

“Go on, Isa,” Lily said again, turning her back on the couple. She moved a handful of empty shot glasses into the sink.

“Are you sure, Lil?” Isabelle asked.

Lily smiled over her shoulder. “Franco’s is two doors down the street, I’ll be fine,” she assured her friend.

“Don’t take too long, Lily. After Franco’s, we’re all going to Becca’s for jello shots in her heated pool.”

Isabelle frowned at her boyfriend. “Jello shots would melt in a heated pool.”

“That’s kind of the idea, love,” Conner said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Isabelle opened her mouth to scold him but Conner interrupted her with a kiss. He kissed her repeatedly, short little pecks, until Isabelle was smiling and willingly following him towards the front door.

“Be quick about it, Lil,” Isabelle called back. “The night is young!”

Lily heard them say good bye to Martin as they went through the living room. She waited until she heard the door close before she peeked over her shoulder at the now nearly empty house.

Some of the students at the agricultural college had recently discovered the concept of a safari supper and decided to organize their own with a few houses on the street with one minor difference: every house would serve a different type of alcohol instead of a dinner course.

The party had started at Liam’s with rum; bottles of the liquor were served in rum and Cokes, mojitos, mai tais, daiquiris, and even straight up for those who liked it that way. The second stop in the progression had been Parkside Terrace for tequila. Everyone in the house helped serve the party guests. The twins prepared shots; Lucas sliced limes and passed out salt for chilled shots and Logan poured soda and dropped glasses for slammers. Lily helped Isabelle blend frozen margaritas while Tommy showed off his one bartending skill by mixing beautifully layered tequila sunrises. After an hour or so, the party moved on to Franco’s for whiskey, leaving Isabelle, Conner, Lily, Martin, and the mess behind.

With the couple gone, it was just Lily, Martin, and the mess that could wait until morning.

Lily dumped the stack of red cups into the bin and turned silently to look at Martin sitting on the couch in the living room. The twins had convinced him to join the party, practically dragging him down the stairs from the attic, but he’d seemed to enjoy himself. The other guests had been warned beforehand that Martin was their housemate and any cracks about his age, his jobs, or anything they’d heard about his life in general would not be tolerated. He’d actually been quite fun to be around, after a few of Logan’s tequila slammers had loosened him up a bit. Martin even entertained the whole party with the heroic tale of how he and the rest of MJN Air thwarted their CEO’s ex-husband’s attempt to steal their plane.

Some of Martin’s social success might’ve been attributed to the car wash a few weeks ago. Many of the partygoers had seen Martin at the car wash and they knew what he was hiding under his loose fitting shirt. Lily had watched girls giggle and bat their eyelashes at him; even a few guys had approached Martin with more than friendly intentions. They all asked about being a pilot, a few questioned him about the thrill of flying, but through it all Martin seemed unmoved by their suggestive wishes to ‘see him in action.’ In the kitchen, the housemates tried not to laugh at Martin’s obliviousness to such blatant come ons; it was simply Martin. His social ineptitude was just a part of who their attic dwelling pilot was, in addition to his love of aviation, his second job as a man with a van, and his unreasonably good physique.

Martin being fit had become fact and everyone in the house accepted it and moved on. Isabelle suggested he invest in some better fitting clothes that would flatter his form instead of hiding it. The twins pestered him with questions about his diet and were disappointed to learn that Martin’s only rule for food was that it be affordable. Tommy offered to set Martin up with a number of different people but he politely declined all of Tommy’s proposals. And Lily, well, Lily watched.

Try as she might, Lily couldn’t get the image of Martin’s bare chest and nicely toned arms out of her head. Nothing else about the pilot had changed but Lily found herself watching Martin move around the house, in the exact same way he always had, with a new level of fascination. She kept her door open to see him pass by on the way to his room. She placed herself in the kitchen before he left for a flight so she could see him hurry out the door dressed in his pilot’s uniform. She may or may not have gotten into an uncharacteristic argument with Tommy about the bathroom just as Martin was coming out, still damp from his shower, wearing shorts and a towel slung over his shoulders. He’d mediated the shouting match and sent the two off in opposite directions, Tommy puzzled by Lily’s sudden outburst and Lily flushed from what was meant to be a calming hand from Martin on her shoulder.

Lily found herself being inexplicably drawn to the pilot; she didn’t know what she wanted or what she expected but she desired to be around Martin in a way she’d never experienced before. That may have been what prompted her to pull a bottle of tequila out of the freezer and pour two shot glasses. She stuck a lime wedge on the rim of each glass and carried them both, with the salt shaker, over to the couch where Martin was comfortably slouched.

Martin smiled when he saw her, his cheeks a little pink from the drinking, but he shook his head when he spotted the glasses in her hand.

“No,” he said, waving his hand in the air. “No more, I’m done.”

“Just one more,” Lily pressed.

“No,” Martin refused. “Isabelle gave me a margarita when I first came down and I did a shot with each of the twins and Tommy.”

“You didn’t do one with me,” she said, holding out the glasses.

Martin pulled his best ‘I’m serious’ face, as he did from time to time, reminding the others that he was the only grown up in the house. If Lily hadn’t been drinking earlier, she would’ve been embarrassed by the childish pout that saddened her eyes and stuck out her lip. Martin resisted for five whole seconds before he sighed and took one of the shot glasses from her hand.

“This is the last one,” he negotiated.

“All right,” Lily agreed as she took a seat on the couch.

She handed Martin the salt shaker. She almost dropped her shot glass when Martin licked the back of his hand before sprinkling some salt on it. Lily was deaf to Martin’s attempt to return the salt shaker to her as her attention was entirely focused on his lips.

“Lily?” he said again.

“Oh, sorry,” she mumbled. 

She could feel her cheeks flush with embarrassment as she took back the salt shaker and hastily moistened her own hand and sprinkled some salt on it. Together they licked the salt from their hands, downed the liquor, and took a bite from the lime wedges. Lily’s face scrunched up against the burn of the tequila. Martin took the glass from her hand and put it down with his and the salt shaker on the small coffee table. He slouched back on the couch and Lily copied him, making herself comfortable a safe distance away from Martin.

“Did you have fun?” she asked.

A warm smile grew on Martin’s face, a rarity that occasionally made Lily wonder about his life. He turned his head towards her and she thought he looked lovely when he smiled.

“I did,” he said with a small nod. “But don’t tell the others.”

“Why not? We’d invite you to more things if we knew you had fun.”

“I don’t really want you to.”

“Why not?” Lily asked again.

“I’m not young like all of you,” Martin answered, sounding a little sad. “While it’s really nice to feel included, I know I don’t fit in with your friends, and that’s fine, that’s how it should be. You and Tommy and the twins and Isabelle are very nice but I don’t want you to feel obligated to include me.”

“Martin,” Lily protested, “we don’t include you because we feel obligated to. We like you.”

“Thanks,” Martin mumbled. He leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. “Did you have fun, Lily?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Was Boomer here? I don’t remember seeing him.”

“Who?”

“Boomer,” Martin repeated. “That guy you’re dating.”

“Booker,” Lily laughed.

Martin turned to her with a sheepish smile. “Sorry about that, you know I’m bad with names. Was Booker here?”

“No,” Lily said softly. She pulled her legs onto the couch and rested her chin on her knees. “Booker hasn’t been here in a while. We broke up last month.” She glanced at Martin’s questioning look and let out a small sigh. “He broke up with me last month,” she admitted.

Lily worried her bottom lip as she met Martin’s steady gaze; she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. She’d been quiet about the break up, even being vague about the details with Isabelle, because she didn’t want the others to feel sorry for her. Lily was nice and most of the guys she met at uni, including Booker apparently, didn’t want nice. It actually didn’t bother her too much so she hadn’t wanted the others to swoop in with their well-intentioned attempts to make her feel better. Although if Martin offered to hug her, she wouldn’t refuse being comforted by his strong arms.

“Then he’s an idiot,” Martin said after what felt like minutes of silence.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Lily muttered.

“He is,” Martin insisted, “and you’re better off without him. You’ll meet someone new, someone better.”

“You think so?”

“You’re not a poorly paid pilot living in a shared house with five students moving other people’s things in an old, beat up van just to get by,” Martin chuckled self-deprecatingly. He kept talking before Lily could point out that Martin’s lifestyle didn’t negate his good qualities of being smart, kind, and hardworking. “You’re a nice girl, Lil, I know you’ll find someone else.”

“What did you say?”

“I know you’ll find someone else,” Martin repeated.

“No, you called me ‘Lil,’” said Lily. “You never call me ‘Lil.’”

“I’m sorry, it just slipped out,” Martin apologized. He sat up, looking nervous as he wrung his hands together. “I didn’t mean to call you that, I meant to call you by your name, well, technically it is your name but I meant to call you ‘Lily’ like I always do because that’s your name. It was an accident, probably because I heard everyone else calling you ‘Lil,’ not that that gives me permission to call you ‘Lil.’ I’m, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

Martin hadn’t rambled so excessively since they first met; Lily didn’t like seeing him so worked up over such a little slip up. There was no reason Martin couldn’t use the nickname, they’d only been living in the same house for almost three years. Emboldened by her inebriated state and her desire to be near Martin, Lily moved closer to him on the couch. She sat beside him and put a hand over his where they sat on his knee. Martin looked down at her hand over his own before he lifted his gaze to meet Lily’s eyes again.

“It’s all right, Martin. You can call me ‘Lil,” she said gently. “I like it.”

“Um, well then, Lil,” Martin said, trying it out. Lily smiled at him and a nervous grin pulled at his lips. “In, in that case, you can call me ‘Marty,’ if you like.”

“‘Marty’?” Lily laughed.

Martin furrowed his brow. “No, that’s, that’s silly,” he stuttered. “Don’t ever call me ‘Marty.’ How about ‘Skip’?”

“‘Skip’?” she questioned.

The frown on Martin’s face deepened. “No, no, that’s a terrible idea.” He shut his eyes and gave his head a quick shake. “Please don’t ever call me ‘Skip.’ Let’s just stick to ‘Martin.’”

“‘Martin’ is good,” Lily said, inching towards him. Her hand was still covering his and their legs were pressed together from hip to knee. Martin watched her warily but Lily didn’t notice because her eyes were fixed to his lips. “I like ‘Martin.’”

Lily leaned forward and kissed Martin, a move that she’d never be brave enough to attempt if she were sober. His lips were soft and the little touch didn’t satiate Lily’s desire; it was merely a sample that left her wanting more. She pressed on even though Martin didn’t respond, lifting her hands to his face and tracing her tongue over his lips. Lily felt a hand on her shoulder, gently trying to push her away. It was insistent so, reluctantly, she pulled back.

“Lily, I don’t think-”

“Martin,” Lily interrupted. 

He stopped talking and waited for her to continue. 

Lily didn’t know what to say. Martin probably had a number of reasons for why he thought she should stop and Lily had none for why they should continue other than she wanted to. She didn’t know exactly what she wanted but she wanted Martin. They were still so close, he had stopped pushing her once she stopped kissing him. She could see the hesitation in his eyes, she could smell the tequila on his breath. Lily knew that she didn’t have the words or the sense of mind to talk Martin into what she wanted so she decided to just ask.

“Please?” she asked quietly.

Martin opened his mouth to speak; Lily waited for the grown up rationale about being housemates or their age difference but he didn’t say anything. Martin gaped silently at Lily for ten whole seconds before he hesitantly reached out to touch her cheek.

“Oh, hell,” he muttered, slipping his hand behind Lily’s neck and pulling her to him.

Their lips met again and Martin was kissing Lily. He was an active participant this time, with both of his hands tangled in Lily’s hair and his tongue teasing for entrance into her mouth. She had no choice but to let him lead; Martin, perhaps due to his age and experience, kissed unlike any other guy Lily had kissed before. Her head felt dizzy from the sensation and she longed to know what other things Martin could do with his mouth. He was better than Booker, better than Adam, better than any guy she had ever kissed in her life up until now. Lily could probably never go back to kissing guys now that she’d kissed a man.

Martin pulled, Lily followed, their bodies twisted; Martin ended up on his back on the couch with Lily on top of him, still locked in the kiss. Air didn’t seem important to either of them, oxygen was no longer the necessity it once had been. It was only necessary for them to keep touching, to keep tasting, licking, and nipping; it was as if once their lips separated, the moment would be over and they’d never get this chance again.

Lily ran her hands through Martin’s red curls, unable to stop herself from touching them. She reveled in the soft, content hum that rose in Martin’s throat as she ran her fingers along his scalp. Martin’s hands were at the small of her back, having worked their way down from her shoulders. Lily could feel the hesitation as Martin seemed unsure of whether or not to proceed. She took the decision away from him, arching her back and moving her body forward to put her ass squarely under his hands. Martin gave in and grabbed her, pressing their bodies together, testing the layers of clothing that kept them apart. Lily pulled back with a gasp as he rubbed against her. Martin leaned up, recapturing her lips, and Lily willingly fell back with him to the kiss, that until a few weeks ago, she hadn’t even known she wanted.

The front door opened suddenly.

Startled and surprised, they scrambled to separate. Limbs were hastily unwound as Martin pushed Lily off of him. She’d just situated herself on the opposite end of the couch as Logan walked in.

Logan looked quickly between them, not noticing their mussed hair, heavy breathing, and well kissed lips.

“Have either of you seen Lucas?” he asked.

“No,” they both answered, shaking their heads.

Logan groaned loudly. “I’m going to kill him,” he growled. Logan turned around and stomped out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

With Logan’s departure, it was just Lily and Martin again.

Lily watched the door, waiting for it to reopen. She fully expected Logan to return to search every corner of the house or Lucas to come running in to look for a place to hide. After a few minutes, when the door remained closed, her gaze moved to Martin at the other end of the couch. He was watching her; she could see him thinking. Lily imagined that the thoughts in her head were very similar to the ones in Martin’s.

What now?

Lily was speaking before she was aware she was doing it.

“My room or-”

“It’s good that we stopped before-”

They both stopped talking when they heard each other’s words.

Lily stared at Martin, the sobering expression on his face in stark contrast to his messy red hair and the flush of his cheeks. The interruption had shaken him out of the moment and Martin was grasping for his grown up responsibility. Lily wanted, no, she needed Martin but not for his rational thinking. She needed to touch him, she needed to kiss him, she needed... she didn’t entirely understand what she needed but she needed him. Lily could see the argument forming in Martin’s mind; she expected that he would speak of regrets, mistakes, and inappropriateness. She had no counter argument and she didn’t want to hear his.

If there would be regret in the morning, then it should at least be for more than an inappropriate make out session on the couch.

Without a word, Lily stood up from the couch and headed for the staircase to the second floor. She stopped at the bottom and turned to face Martin. Lily stood tall, channeling Isabelle as best as she could; Isabelle’s strong confidence had a better chance of winning this stand off than Lily’s quiet agreeability.

“My room or yours?” she asked, holding Martin’s gaze with her own.

Lily was forced to wait fifteen whole seconds before Martin stood from the couch and approached her.

He didn’t hesitate as he gathered her in his arms and pulled her into his embrace. Lily’s lips easily found his and they picked up right where they left off, the kiss quickly growing deep and hungry as they tried to press closer to one another. Without breaking the kiss, Lily turned and stepped onto the first stair, almost bringing them to the same height. Martin’s hands slid down her body, arms wrapping tightly around her in an attempt to hold her in place as Lily tried to take another step back, tugging impatiently at his shirt. She managed to get up to the second step but Martin pulled her back down. He ran a hand through her hair and dropped kisses down her neck, convincing Lily to remain where they were, at least for a moment.

Lily slipped from Martin’s grasp and they separated just long enough to navigate the stairs.


	3. ... and Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the morning after the party and Isabelle can't find Lily. No one's seen her since they left her in the house last night. Fortunately, Lily's safe and sound in Martin's bed. Unfortunately, Martin doesn't know how he should feel about that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written as a follow-up to the follow-up. I felt like there was a little wrapping up to do. Also, just wanted to write more students.

The house was quiet the next morning.

Logan sat at the kitchen table with his head buried in his arms. He was barely awake but he was awake. He turned his head from side to side, unable to make the chair and his arms as comfortable as his bed and his pillow. He’d managed a grunt when Tommy asked if he’d like some coffee. The other man padded quietly around the kitchen, rubbing his head as he filled the coffee pot with water.

The sound of quick footsteps preceded Isabelle’s arrival in the kitchen.

“Have either of you seen Lily?” she asked.

Logan uttered a negative and turned his head away from her.

“Not yet, she’s probably still sleeping” Tommy said with a yawn. “Coffee?”

“She’s not,” Isabelle informed him. “I already checked her room, she isn’t there.” Isabelle hit redial on her phone and held it to her ear as she crossed the living room to the front door. She took a quick look outside before crossing back to the kitchen. Isabelle sat next to Logan with a heavy sigh. “She isn’t answering her phone,” she said, dropping her own on the table. “Why isn’t she answering her phone?”

“She’s probably still sleeping,” Tommy said again.

“Where?” Isabelle asked. “Where is she that she doesn’t have her phone or her shoes?”

“In her room?” Tommy asked, pouring coffee into two cups.

“She isn’t _in_ her room, Tommy.”

Tommy sat down across from Logan and placed a cup of coffee in front of him. Logan lifted his head and rested his chin on his hands; he stared at the cup, taking long whiffs of the sobering aroma. Isabelle had picked up her phone again and was composing a text message, worry beginning to line her face.

Tommy took a sip before asking, “What do you mean she isn’t in her room?”

“What do you think I mean when I say ‘she isn’t in her room’?” Isabelle asked in annoyance. “ _Lily isn’t in her room._ She isn’t in her room, her shoes are still outside the front door, and she isn’t answering her phone.”

To emphasize her point, Isabelle hit redial and held her phone up to show Tommy. After two rings, the screen changed from a picture of Lily to a timer, indicating that the call had been picked up. Isabelle hit the speakerphone button and put the phone down on the table between them.

“Lily! Where are you?”

“Isabelle, shut up.”

“Lucas?!” Isabelle questioned, grabbing the phone. “Where are you? Why do you have Lily’s phone?”

“I’m right here. Stop your bloody shouting.”

Isabelle and Tommy turned to see Lucas slowly sitting up on the couch in the living room. He looked the worst out of everyone; Lucas was still wearing last night’s clothes and the bruising around his left eye had taken on a deep purple color. Logan glanced over his shoulder at his brother for a second before returning his attention to the cup of coffee he hugged in his hands. Lucas held Lily’s phone up in one hand and made a big show of ending the call from Isabelle.

“It is too early in the morning for you to be making so much noise,” Lucas grumbled. “Some of us were trying to sleep.”

“Why do you have Lily’s phone?” Isabelle asked again.

“I don’t know!” Lucas whined. He twisted his upper body and let his head and arms droop over the back of the couch. “It was wedged between my back and the cushions. The stupid thing’s been vibrating on and off for some time now; at first it was nice but then it just got annoying. Why do you have so many questions?”

“Because I don’t know where Lily is and I’m even more worried now that I know she doesn’t have her phone because it was stuck in the couch under your drunk ass.”

Lucas groaned loudly. “I’ll take a cup of that coffee, Tommy. Two sugars and some Bailey’s if we have it.”

Isabelle watched Tommy stand up to make Lucas a cup of coffee. She looked back at Lucas, who was still draped lifelessly over the couch. She turned to look at Logan, the other twin sitting nearly still, alternating between blowing at his coffee to cool it off and taking tiny sips. Isabelle slammed her hand down on the table, making all three men turn to look at her.

“Have any of you heard a word I said?” she asked. “I don’t know where Lily is.”

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Lucas said, speaking to the ground.

“When was the last time any of you saw her?”

“Logan said she was with Tommy,” Lucas answered. He lifted an arm to point at his brother.

“Lucas said she was with Tommy,” said Logan, pointing back at his brother.

“I thought she was with you,” Tommy said with a shrug.

Isabelle groaned and rubbed her face with her hands. “When was the last time any of you actually _saw_ her?” she questioned. “Did anyone see her at Becca’s? Did anyone even see her at Franco’s?”

“I saw Booker at Franco’s.” Tommy walked over to the couch and handed Lucas a cup of coffee. “Maybe she went home with him,” he suggested, sitting down at the table again.

“She wouldn’t have,” Isabelle said, shaking her head.

“Why not?”

“They broke up.”

“What? When?”

“Two or three weeks ago. I’m not sure, I couldn’t get her to give me any details.” Isabelle pushed her chair out and went over to the couch. “Give me her phone,” she demanded. Lucas held the requested item up in one hand and Isabelle took it from him. “If Booker came back to Lily for an easy lay, I’m going to kill him,” she murmured murderously. Isabelle left through the front door, slamming it loudly behind her.

“Lily’s probably still asleep in someone else’s bed,” said Lucas, taking a sip of coffee. “Warm, well shagged, and far, far away from Isabelle’s noise... lucky girl.”

“You do realize we’re talking about Lily, right?” Tommy asked.

“Why wouldn’t she be? Lily’s cute as a button and she had more than her fair share to drink last night even before we left for Franco’s. I bet you twenty quid she met a guy and went back to his place.” Lucas nodded to himself before taking another sip. “She’ll probably waltz in here shortly, making Isabelle’s fuss look ridiculous and excessive. Well, maybe after noon,” he said with a shrug. “She’s a nice girl; if he likes her, he might take her out for breakfast.”

Before Tommy could respond to Lucas’ theory, Isabelle threw open the door and stalked back into the house.

“Booker says she isn’t with him,” Isabelle reported. “He claims he hasn’t seen her since they broke up.”

“Where’s Conner when you need him?” Lucas mumbled into his coffee cup. “He could take Isabelle back to bed and keep her there until a more reasonable hour, like two in the afternoon.”

“What did you say Lucas?” Isabelle demanded, standing over his drooping form.

“I said ‘I’m sure she’s fine.’”

“Well, as reassuring as I find your words, they still don’t answer the question of where the _hell_ is Lily?”

* * *

Lily was curled up next to Martin in his bed.

She was still asleep but Martin was awake and he had been for a short while now. They were both naked, their clothes still laying on the floor where they were hastily discarded last night, with a mess of bedding thrown lazily over them. There seemed to be barely enough room for the two of them in Martin’s bed but close proximity was a practical solution to that problem. Lily’s head rested on Martin’s arm, her face mere inches away from his, and her hands brushed against his chest when she shifted in her sleep. Martin’s arm was beginning to fall asleep as a result of the position he was in but he dared not move, not wanting to wake Lily before he was sure about what happened last night.

He was sure it was a bad idea.

Martin and Lily were housemates; Martin knew well from friends, and cliche movie and sitcom storylines, that only bad things could come from sleeping with people you lived with. Even if they both agreed that it was a mistake, they would still have to see each other very regularly and things could get awkward. Martin’s social interactions were often already awkward and he was not one who needed the additional challenge of interacting casually with someone he’d seen naked and been seen naked by. In addition, Lily was almost ten years his junior; under different circumstances, bedding a woman nearly ten years his junior might be seen as an accomplishment but, in this case, it was a failure of control. They’d both been drunk last night and it’d been Martin’s responsibility to be the grown up. Instead he gave in to Lily, giving her control and allowing her to steer them in the wrong direction.

Lily turned closer to him. Her feet brushed against his legs and he could feel her soft breath on his neck. Some of her hair fell into her face and Martin reached out tentatively to tuck it behind her ear. That touch reminded Martin of every other place he had touched Lily last night. He’d learned so much about her in such a short time; he now knew how to make her laugh, whimper, beg, gasp, or moan with just a simple touch.

And he wasn’t sure it was a bad idea.

Lily was one of the kindest people Martin had ever met. She always listened when he spoke and, even if she disagreed with him, she never belittled Martin or his ideas. Lily’s smile was always genuine and it had never contained a gram of pity. Martin didn’t feel like he had to impress her; this uncharacteristic sense of ease might have been what allowed Martin to focus all of his energy on Lily last night. Without the distraction of worrying over what she might think of his experience or his methods, Martin was free to just do and let his natural ability to deal with whatever was thrown at him guide his actions. He and Lily were good together. Martin was reluctant to pat himself on the back but he might go as far to say that he and Lily were great together. He’d figured out how to touch her, to work her up and tease her to the very edge until Lily was crying out Martin’s name in frantic pleas. Lily had a mouth that Martin hadn’t expected, in more ways than one, and the things she could do with her tongue only solidified the fact that Booker was an idiot to break up with her.

The front door of the house slammed loudly, bringing Martin back to the reality that he was trying to assess. He was a pilot and she was a student; they were still housemates and she was still nearly ten years his junior. 

He was sure it was a bad idea.

Martin was working on the right way to explain how he felt about the situation--it was quite difficult to say ‘I had an excellent time having sex with you last night but I’m too old for you and we live in the same house so we should never do it again, and, ideally, never speak of it again,’--when Lily began to stir. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head. Lily rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around, taking a moment to remember where she was. Her eyes met Martin’s and her smile brightened the poorly lit room.

Martin opened his mouth to speak but all of his objections vanished when he saw the look in Lily’s eyes. There was warmth, affection, and, well, for lack of better word, _satisfaction_ there. No one had ever looked at Martin quite like that before. His assessment of their situation could wait a few hours, or even a few days or weeks; Martin’s fully justifiable objections could wait until Lily no longer looked at him the way she was now.

Realizing that his mouth was still open, Martin searched for something to say but his entire vocabulary seemed to have vanished along with his objections.

“Hi,” he finally managed to stammer.

“Hi,” Lily laughed.

She leaned up to kiss Martin lightly on the lips. Martin, eager to do something that didn’t make him sound like a stuttering simpleton, weaved a hand through Lily’s hair and kept her lips pressed against his when she moved to pull away. Ignoring the tingles in his previously sleeping arm, Martin rolled onto his back and pulled Lily with him. He felt himself getting lost in the enticing combination of Lily’s lips, the play of her hands in his hair, and the warmth of her body splayed across his. Lily’s hands started to wander, followed by her lips, over Martin’s skin as she slid down his torso.

There was a knock at Martin’s door.

He almost groaned in frustration when Lily, startled by the noise, sat up suddenly, abandoning her exploration of his body before she reached her ultimate destination.

“Oi, Martin, you there?” Lucas called through the door.

Martin pushed himself up and he and Lily exchanged a look. His earlier objections began to reappear as Martin realized he had no idea what they were doing; the slightly confused expression on Lily’s face told him that she didn’t know any more than he did. They would have to figure it out at some point but now was not the time for that discussion, not with Lucas standing on the other side of Martin’s door. 

Lucas knocked again, Lily bit down on her lower lip, and Martin let out a long sigh. He didn’t have many options; answering the door was one of the last things Martin wanted to do but ignoring Lucas would probably make the situation worse. He stood up from bed, surprised to find Lily holding him back with a look of mild distress on her face. Martin gave her a quick kiss; it was an attempt to reassure himself as much as it was to reassure her. He picked his trousers up from the floor and put them on as he crossed the short width of his room.

When Martin opened the door, he was a little taken aback by the large black bruise coloring Lucas’ left eye.

“Are you all right?” Martin asked.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Lucas answered, waving his hand dismissively. “It was just Logan being a prat." He yawned before he continued. "Sorry to bother you at this ungodly hour, Martin, but we were wondering when you last saw Lily? Nobody’s seen her since last night, she doesn’t have her phone, and Isabelle’s throwing a bloody fit trying to-”

Lucas’ words came to a halt as he tilted his head to look over Martin’s shoulder. He craned his neck to get a better look. Lucas put a hand on Martin’s shoulder, easily pushing aside the speechless pilot, and took a step into the room.

“Hey there, Lils.”

Lily gave him a tiny wave. “Hi, Lucas,” she said quietly.

Lily had backed up to the far side of the bed. She sat with her back against the wall and the sheets pulled up around her. She hugged her knees to her chest and dropped her eyes to the ground, hair falling in her face as her cheeks started to color pink with embarrassment.

Lucas’ gaze flitted between Lily and Martin a few times. It landed on Martin and a knowing grin grew over Lucas’ face; Martin could feel his own cheeks starting to flush as Lucas put the pieces together and he wished he’d taken a few extra seconds to put his shirt on.

“Well, well, well. It looks like Lucas was right. It’s always the quiet ones that’ll surprise you,” he chuckled. “Good for you, mate,” he said, clapping a hand on Martin’s shoulder, “getting a sweet, younger woman into your bed. And, Lils,” Lucas turned to smile at her, “seducing a world traveling airline pilot; very impressive.” Lucas actually beamed as he looked between the two of them. “I am just so proud of both of you right now.”

The blush on Lily’s face grew redder as she buried her face in her arms. Martin was going to ask Lucas leave, before he and Lily overheated from embarrassment, but Lucas preempted him by throwing an arm around Martin’s shoulders. Lucas guided them back to the door and gave Martin a wink as he stepped out of the room.

“Although, I wouldn’t want to be you when Isabelle finds out,” Lucas whispered.

“What? Why would Isabelle, what does, how... why?” Martin asked.

“Girls are never fond of the chap who’s shagging their best friend,” Lucas said as he turned to go down the stairs. His footsteps descended to the second floor before he shouted “Somebody owes me twenty quid!”

Martin closed and locked the door behind Lucas. He stood next to it, listening for the sound of footsteps on the floor below; Martin half expected Lucas to return with Logan, Tommy, and Isabelle in tow, all of them armed with questions he wasn’t prepared to answer. Hearing nothing but silence, he checked the lock again and turned back to his bed.

Lily was still sitting with her back against the wall. Martin took a seat beside her, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair.

“He’s going to tell the others, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” Lily nodded, staring at the door.

“I suppose,” Martin said, turning to look at Lily, “we could, well, we could always go down and deal with them now.” Lily bit her bottom lip, making Martin glad to see that she was just as reluctant about that idea as he was. “Or we could, possibly, not forever of course because it has to happen at some point, but we could put it off. Until later, I mean.”

“Later’s good.”

“Later is good,” he agreed. Lily nodded, a smile starting to pull at her lips, and they both laughed nervously. Martin touched a hand to her cheek, smiling when she settled into the touch. “I like later.”

Martin leaned in to kiss Lily. His touch was leisurely as he took his time to study the contour of Lily’s lips with his own. He was in no hurry; Martin wanted to put it all off--the discussion, facing the others, responsibility--until ‘later’ for as long as possible. Lily’s arms wound around his neck as she pulled him closer, teasing Martin with her talented tongue. He tried to bring her to him but there was a bit of a tumble as they unwound Lily from the sheets. Martin got twisted in them and Lily ended up on top, wearing nothing but a smile Martin had never seen before. Lily’s smile brightened as she ran her hand through his hair; Martin was unable to stop the grin from spreading over his face when he chanced the thought that that particular smile was new... and just for him.

No matter what happened, no matter how long whatever this was lasted or how messily it might end, that smile on Lily’s lips assured him that it wasn’t a bad idea.

It might even be a good one.


End file.
